A Spring Day

These 60 and 70 degree days have been amazing! It's so nice to do things out of the ordinary for March like having picnic dinners and drawing pictures with sidewalk chalk!

It's a Miracle!

Wow! It finally happened! High Speed Internet! I thought that we would have the old dial up ball and chain forever, but after several months of research, phone calls, pulling cable to the wrong pole and being forgotten about . . . we have dial up no longer!

All I have to say about that is WOO HOO!

* I can actually watch the video feeds from my fellow blogger's sites
* I can upload pictures to my blog in less than 30 minutes (more like 30 seconds)
* I can move from screen to screen easily instead of baking a batch of cookies while I wait for a screen to load.
* And, most importantly, I can talk on the phone while I'm on the internet.

I actually sat and watched American Idol last night with my laptop on my lap . . . and could browse during the commercial breaks - AMAZING!

Who knows? I may even be inclined to blog more than once a week now!

Happy Birthday Bella Boo!

Helping to make her "Happy Birthday Cake"

Eating the "Happy Birthday Cake"



I can hardly believe it! My little Bella Boo is 2!

It brings about an amazing array of emotions - from happiness to gratefulness to a bit of sadness.

Happiness for the health and strength she's been granted. Not everyone is blessed with a healthy child.

Gratefulness for the privilege of raising her. There was a time we didn't think we'd have the chance to play the role of mom and dad. Her name, Bella Grace, means beautiful, undeserved gift - and that's just what she is!

Sadness for the loss of babyhood. No more diapers. No more needing mom - "I do it!". No more onesies.

Bella brings us so much joy and laughter! We are so grateful to God for his tremendous gift to us in her!

Home Sweet Home?

Last week I had the opportunity to go to the Willow Creek Children's Ministry Conference with 5 of my ministry team leaders. A great time was had by all - even despite the Chicago traffic on the way home!

It was wonderful to get away for a few days . . . from housecleaning, laundry, kids and all the other things that are part of the daily grind. However - why is it that when you finally take some time for yourself, there's always h-e-double hockey sticks to pay for it when you get back? It seems like it takes two days of recovery time for every day I was away! I've been home the last two days trying to spend some quality time with the girls, only to be hit, kicked, bitten and yelled at . . . what's up with that?

On the bright side though, my mind is spinning with ideas and improvements to bring to the Children's Ministries at my church!

I guess it was worth it then!

Crabby Bear Syndrome

In our house, when you're having "one of those days" you get refered to as a crabby bear.

Well, I think I'm suffering from the Crabby Bear Syndrome (also known as PMS).

Do you ever notice that when you're crabby, you have this uncanny ability to make everyone around you crabby too?

The last few days have been miserable around our place. I'd like to blame it on Faith's strong-willedness (is that a word?) - because that's an easy thing to fall back on . . . but the bottom line is - "When Mama ain't happy - ain't nobody happy!" The kids just have a way of absorbing the negative energy, and giving it right back to you!

I had to apologize to Faith this morning, cuz' I was yelling at her all morning (granted, she couldn't have been moving any slower). I know - while I'm being nasty that I'm being nasty - but it doesn't seem to stop me. I just keep on-a yellin'! Ugh! I'm tired of being cranky!

So how do you fight the crabby bear that lives within you?

The sunshine is helping . . . a little bit . . .

A Month of Birthdays

I flipped over my calendar the other day, and was amazed at how many March birthdays there are amongst my friends and family members - over 15! Apparently June/July are busy months for getting busy, if you know what I mean!

In honor of all of these wonderful people, I am posting the best birthday cake frosting recipe I know! That way, ya'll can share in the birthday fun!

3/4 c. Crisco
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 T Dream Whip (dry)
1/2 t. almond extract

Cream above ingredients together, and then whip until light and fluffy.

Then add half at a time to above mixture:
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar (1lb)
1/4 c. water

This recipe keeps in the frige for about 3 months if in an airtight container. It's great to add food coloring to for decorating.

You won't find a tastier recipe anywhere!

Happy Birthday to all those born in March!
Michelle and Joy - March 1
Jared - March 4
Jackie - March 10
Amy and Brian - March 13
Joy - March 14
Shelly - March 15
Bella - March 17
Chase - March 18
Kent - March 22
Will - March 25
Jed - March 26
Michael - March 27
Tina and Joelle - March 30

And This Is Love . . .

As many of you know, we've had significant challenges in parenting our daughter Faith. She is a strong-willed child that has given us a real run for the money over the last few months. Mike and I have read a number of books and even saw a child psycologist a couple of times to learn all we could to help Faith be successful in life.

Well, one of our strategies has been implementing a job chart. This is a concrete way for her to see what she has to do, and gives her the ability to do various things without being told 150 times to do so.

Anyway, for every job she does, she gets a magnetic circle to put on her chart, and for every circle she receives, she gets a nickle at the end of the week. We take 10 percent of her earnings and put it in her church purse, 40 percent goes in her piggy bank to save, and the other 50 percent she can put in her shopping purse to spend on what she wants.

She's been carrying her shopping purse EVERYWHERE! She's so proud of all the money she's earned, and she's saving it "for something big." Who knew she'd be so motivated by money!

Last night she took her shopping purse with her to the bathroom . . . she decided to count her money while "going" and had a terrible accident! She dropped a nickle in the toilet! TRAVISTY! There was the nickle - sunk all the way to the bottom - lying dormant amongst the pee and poop. What to do?

I, being the tough-love mom that I am, told her she needed to get it herself. She dropped it - she can get it. Well, this caused a huge erruption of tears, snot and drool. Mike and I couldn't help but laughing . . . it was quite humorous to us. Not to her though!

Finally, Mike, my hero of a husband, stuck his hand into the pee and poop filled toilet to retreive the nickle . . . is that love, or what? He's a much better parent than I am!

So, if we ever pay you in cash for something, you may just receive the infamous "poop nickle".

The last 15 hours . . .

Here's my last 15 hours:

Bella=vomitting and liquid diarrhea - at the same time
Cleaning vomit and diarrhea from clothing, carpet, sink, toilet, blanket
More vomit and diarrhea
More cleaning
6 hours of interrupted sleep (who sleeps well when their baby could barf at any moment?)
Rushing Faith and her buddies to preschool (my day for carpool) praying that there would be no vomit or diarrhea incidents
Glitter all over the playroom . . . including the DOG! That's right, the dog looks stunning . . . how long do you think it will
take for all the glitter to disappear?

So far - no more vomit or diarrhea - that's forward progress.

As for the glitter? I think we'll be finding it for years to come!

Tonight is date night . . . boy do I need it!

Here's hoping Faith stays healthy, so we can have a babysitter!

Calgon . . . take me away!

Zone of the Unknown

I've been reading a great book called Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybles. The concept is very simple - Jesus wants us to care about people the way he did - and if we're going to do that we need to be willing to go outside our comfort zone into the "Zone of the Unknown".

This whole thing with Joshua (see my last post) - in addition to reading this book - has me feeling very challenged in entering the "Zone of the Unknown".

I think we've all had it were we feel something in our 'gut' - sometimes quite literally - that leads us to say something to someone, confront an issue, help a stranger, give someone a smile or encouraging word or call someone we haven't talked to in ages. If you're like me, sometimes you listen to this still small voice, sometimes you ignore it and move on.

My goal is to keep my spiritual ears open to the propting of the Holy Spirit. I'm going to jump right in to the "Zone of the Unknown" and ask the Lord what he would have me do, or say, or NOT say for him each day. So often, my days are focused on what I want to do, or what I want to accomplish. My goal is now to focus on what Christ can do through me - on making myself available for his purposes - not just my own.

I hope my ears will be open to the Spirit's prompting. Sometimes it's so quiet, it hardly registers as a whisper, and I find myself thinking, "Is this just me, or is this from God?" It's hard to discern sometimes, isn't it?

Then there are times - like this whole Joshua deal - that I feel like it couldn't have been any clearer than if God spray painted the message on my garage door! I found out that Joshua only has one 30 minute visit per week. The chances of me actually getting in to see him is pretty low. I mean, honestly, will he choose to talk to his old 4th grade teacher over his family or friends? That said, however, I still feel a very strong promting from the Holy Spirit to move ahead with trying! If God wants me to go, he'll open the doors, right? So for now, I'm going to start with writing Joshua a letter. Please pray with me that this will open the door for one to one contact with him in the future!

How about you? Is there someone you need to call? or have coffee with? Is there a neighbor or co-worker that you can make these first steps with? Is the Holy Spirit prompting you? Enter the "Zone of the Unknown" with me! It's going to be a wild ride!

A Prediction Come True

Unbelievable!

Last night I got a call from the gal I used to teach with several years back. She told me that one of my past students had been arrested for attempted murder! No Way! You can read the story here.

Joshua was one of those kids you don't soon forget. He was always in trouble, picking on kids and trying to get a rise out of teachers . . . Just an example: he announced to my whole class of 4th graders exactly what Monica Lewinski did to President Clinton - in detail. Nice, huh? Try explaining that one to the parents! I remember saying to my team teacher, "I'm going to see this kids picture on TV someday for doing something terrible." Well, yesterday was that day! I still can't believe it!

I went from shock to having a very heavy heart.

Joshua came from an extremely unstable home - complete with domestic violence - among other things. He was always after attention - even if it meant/especially if it meant -negative attention. I did my best to hug him often, and encourage him in the things he did well. He was a very smart boy. He did well academically. He had beautiful penmanship. He was very athletic. He had so much potential to overcome his circumstances - to do something positive with his life!

Yet, out of his need for approval and affection, he decided to join a gang.

My heart aches for him, because I know that he lacks the one thing that would give him identity and purpose - a relationship with Jesus. He's trying to fill the gaping hole in is life with everything but Jesus.

I was catching up with my New Testament reading yesterday (before I had heard about this) and read the passage from Matthew 25 that says, "For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me."

As I was reading this yesterday, I remember thinking specifically about that statement. That's one thing I have never done . . . visit someone in prison.

Then I got the phone call.

Now I have someone to visit. I don't know what I'll say when I get there.

Sometimes God is subtle, sometimes not . . .

Why do we live here again?

My question for the day is this: Why do we live here?

When we could live here instead?

You know it's winter in the mid-west when:

• there are two feet of snow on your deck
• you can't fall asleep because your house is making so much noise as a result of wood contracting as it tries to shrink in the cold
• you have to jump start your car because your battery is experiencing hypothermia
• the digital thermometer in your car reads in the negative
• it's so cold that salt doesn't melt the snow anymore
• your boogers freeze in your nose
• the snow squeaks beneath your feet!
• you haven't seen more than 2 minutes of sun in more than a month
• your arms are as white as your butt
• you feel depressed due to your whiteness, lack of sunshine and cabin fever
• when your energy bill is nearing $300

How about a California winter, or a Florida winter?

• 80 degree temps
• sunshine all the time (OK almost all the time)
• bronzed skin - that healthy glow
• sand squeaking beneath your bare toes
• feeling refreshed and energized by the sun, sand and happy, tan people
• cars starting with ease
• did I mention the warm, happy sunshine

I've concluded that people need the Lord in warm places too. We don't need to stay in the freezing cold to do His will . . . who's with me?

Question of the day . . .

How long can wet laundry sit in your washer before you have to re-wash it?

Bye Bye Birdy!

Well, we had to say good bye to our little "Pijjy". Yesterday I made several calls to find out what to do with a lost homing pigeon. I finally was given the name and number of the veterenarian for our local zoo. They have several stray, wild animals that live with them, and they offered to take Pijjy off our hands.

She explained that most owners of homing pigeons don't want the ones that fly off course back . . . apparently they're a flight risk (tee hee). What good is a homing pigeon that doesn't come home?

Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed our 36 hours with Pijjy, but it was time to bid farewell. So, don't be holding your breath for your "air-mail" delivered packages from us!

Homing Pigeon?

Last night I needed to get something out of my van . . . and when I opened the door to our garage, this is what I saw. I may have let out some sort of "Ahh!" thinking it may fly directly into my house and then quickly shut the door. I called Mike and the girls to the door to take a look, and they had the same reaction.

I thought it was a mourning dove . . . but Mike saw the bands on it's ankle and informed me that we had a homing pigeon!

We went online to try to find some information or leads on where it came from, but came up empty handed! So, Mike and the girls put together a make shift cage, got some water and rice for it to eat, and it stayed in our house last night. Faith has affectionately named it pijjy.

I made some calls this morning, and what I found was that most people who own homing pigeons, don't want the lost ones returned because they went off course and, therefore, are useless. I was told I could keep it if I want . . .

So, Mike and I are working on training it to deliver mail, so we don't have to buy stamps anymore. If you end up seeing a really cute pigeon by your door with a letter attached to it's ankle . . . it's from us. Just make sure you send it home after you've received your note.

Do I have eyes in my heart?

Last night as we were getting the girls ready for bed, the radio was on. The song was, "Open The Eyes Of My Heart". I wasn't even really paying attention until Faith asked, "Do we have eyes in our hearts, Mom?"

Isn't it amazing the verbage we take for granted as adults? There are so many confusing things that we say in regards to our faith, it's a wonder our kids ever get it! Here's jus a couple of confusing things I've talked about with Faith - in a bulleted list - in honor of Dana.

• Have you asked Jesus into your heart? - I can see that this could be a bit confusing . . .
• Open the eyes of my heart - how do you explain that one to a 4-year-old?
• Washed in the blood of Jesus - doesn't this sound disgusting?
• How can God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all be the same person? - I've always tried to explain this one by saying that I'm a mom, a sister and a daughter . . . but I'm the same person. I have different roles, but still am 1 person.
• Our souls go to heaven, but not our bodies . . . until Jesus comes back, and then our bodies will be raised and be new . . . confusing for adults, much less children. "What about the babies that died in your tummy? They didn't have bodies yet?"

I can see why the statistics out there point to the fact that 80% of the people who come to Christ, do so as children between the ages of 5-12 . . . beyond that, I think people need to rationalize their faith - they need to have specific answers to unanswerable quesitons before they'll commit. Kids don't need to rationalize . . . they just believe it!

Isn't childlike faith amazing?

What crazy questions have your kids asked?

Accountability

When we make goals for ourselves . . . why is it so often so hard to acheive them?

I've talked a lot about New Year's resolutions lately . . . but how many of us have actually stuck to them in year's past? In my last post, I talked about just making the goals "doable" - not so difficult that you can't realistically acheive them. But in addition to that, I think we need to be able to admit that we can't very easily make positive change in our lives without the help of others.

Why is it that we have the mentality that we have to do these things on our own? I've proved time and time again that without accountability, there's very little I will accomplish on my own.

• My house wouldn't be nearly so clean if my husband didn't come home each night. He loves a clean house, and he's calm and peaceful when the house is clean. Knowing he'll be home at 5:30 each night assures that my house will be a peaceful, clean place by then.
• It would be easy to procrastinate doing things for work if I didn't have Sunday roll around every 7 days. Sundays are going to come whether I'm ready or not . . . so I'm accountable for being ready! (I also have terrific teams of organized people who keep me accountable).
• My kids wouldn't be ready to go out the door by 8:30 in the morning if I didn't have to have Faith to school by 9:00 - Accountability.

I just want to give a big "shout out" to my accountability girls!

It's so cool how God works sometimes, isn't it? Through a random series of conversations and blogsphere interactions with some of the girls in my area, we have decided to keep each other accountable for our common goal of reading the New Testament in a year. We met this morning to work out the details of this endeavor, and a cool thing happened! After chatting for just a brief time, we got into talking about the role of motherhood and the many challenges we face in that regard . . . so in addition to keeping each other accountable for the Bible reading - I think we will be a great encouragement to each other in the realm of motherhood too!

What's even cooler to me, is that this group is not made up of people that I usually "hang" with. No offense to those of you that I normally hang with - but I am truly looking forward to some fresh perspectives and insights on things. AND, I am truly looking forward to getting to know these girls better.

So, accountability girls . . . thank you for your friendship, and the accountability! I look forward to building great relationships over the next year! AND, I look forward to actually accomplishing our goals together!

A Compromise for 2007

So sorry I haven't posted and entry in a while! I've been so busy fulfilling my compromised 2007 resolutions that I haven't had time to post!

That's right, I compromised . . . I re-resolved . . . I called a do-over.

The getting up early thing is just too hard for me. Call me a slacker, call me a quitter, call me lazy, call me what you will . . . but I decided that if I'm truly going to keep my New Year's Resolution, it has to be realistic.

RESOLUTION 1 - BE AN EARLY RISER
Instead of getting up a full hour earlier than my girls, I have compromised at somewhere between 15 minutes and a half of an hour. This is working for me! Even though it doesn't seem like a whole lot of extra time, it's still 15-30 minutes more "me time" than I had been getting. It allows me to shower - or NOT shower - and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee as I do my devotions. This goal certainly doesn't give me the status of the Proverbs 31 woman . . . but I'm closer than I was - that's saying something, isn't it?

RESOLUTION 2 - DO DEVOTIONS CONSISTANTLY
I have committed to reading the New Testament all the way through this year! Now I know that it isn't as cool of an accomplishment as reading the entire Bible in a year, but, like my first resolution, it is doable. If I happen to skip a day or two, it is much easier to make up the one chapter a day than the 5 chapters a day. That's what did me in last year when I tried to do the whole Bible! Plus, now I have the weekends off (which is what I skipped most last year, and it put me like 10 books behind - not chapters - BOOKS). In addition to the simplicity of this task, I now have a stellar group of girls that have the same goal, and will work to keep me accountable (and hopefully I'll keep them accountable too! - Thanks girls!)

RESOLUTION 3 - GET OFF MY LAZY BUTT AND EXERCISE
Ok, I'm one of those fortunate women that has a pretty good metabolism. I can eat pretty much anything I want, not exercise, and still maintain my size 8 status. However, I am a flabby, tired size 8.

My husband has lost 20 lbs since October just as a result of running, watching his portion sizes and drinking lots of water . . . the transformation is amazing (hubba hubba). Since October, I've been sitting on the couch eating my ice cream, banket, and other sweet treats as I wish him farwell on his runs. "Have fun on your run honey! I'll just sit here and eat!"

Well, he has inspired me to greatness yet again. I have purchased the running shoes and sports bra and have been running every day except Sundays. I'm amazed at how much better I feel already! Hopefully I'll be a firm, six-packed size 8 by the time my sister's wedding rolls around in June.

Anyway, so far so good! I am holding strong to the revised plan, and I hope you all will hold me accountable to it! How are you doing on your resolutions?

0 for 2

Ok, I'm really sucking up this New Year's Resolution thing . . .

The alarm went off at the appropriate times for the last two mornings . . . but I just can't help but hit snooze - like 3 times!

I'm reviewing the January lessons for our Sunday school program, and the entire month is focused on the virtue of Discipline - Doing what you need to do even when you don't feel like it. The verse for the month is: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

So . . . I committed to this getting up early thing . . . but am I working at it with all my heart? I think not. Would I be up at 6:30a if Jesus himself was in my kitchen to greet me? Absolutely!

Is He not there to greet me each morning? Yes! So, what's my problem? The problem is I don't feel like it. But discipline is doing what you need to do even when you don't feel like it.

Thank goodness every morning is a new chance to do the right thing! Here's to tomorrow!

New Year's Resolutions

Ok, it's that time of year again where we get all pumped up to make positive changes in our day to day lives. Well, if you're anything like me, these changes occur with quite a bit of frequency in January, are pretty well kept up with in February, but by the end of March, they're caput! My sister-in-law Chelle, said it well here.

So how is it that we are supposed to actually uphold our end of the deal - how do we make sure that we can be successful in what we set out to acheive.

The experts say to pick one thing you can really put your heart and soul into, and go for it! They say you're more likely to succeed if you do one thing, and do it to the full! They also say to get some accountability.

So, here's the deal . . . the one thing I need to work on is discipline. Unfortunately, I need discipline in a LOT of different areas: finances, food, exercise, devotions, not procrastinating . . .
I realize though that the one thing that would make a difference in most of these areas is getting my behind out of bed early.

I HATE getting out of bed . . . I really really hate it! I LOVE sleeping, I love just laying in my bed. I'm an adult now, so there's no-one to tell me to get out of bed - no-one to yank off my covers and turn on the lights - no-one to pull on my big toes until I get up (remember doing that, Dad?). And, it's soooooo easy to hit the snooze 5 or 6 times . . . I do have Mike, but he learned early on not to mess with me in the morning, so he has gracefully bowed out of waking me up - EVER!

So my one resolution (which I've tried to do several different times to no avail) is to get up at least an hour before my girls need to get up. That means 6:30a on M, W, F and 7:00 any other day. I will permit myself Saturdays to "sleep in" until the girls wake up.

I know doing this one thing will help me be more chipper and calm when the girls wake up, it will give me time to exercise, do devotions and shower before they're awake, and it will lessen the mornings we have to rush around to try to make it to wherever we're going on time.

I realize this one thing will help in so many areas of my life, so why is it so hard?

My friend Michelle is struggling to do the same thing . . . check out her comments.

So, for the accountability . . . Mike refuses to help . . . so, who can I count on to help me?

A Great Start to the New Year!

It has truly been a great day! Here's why:

1. The kids let us sleep in til almost 9:00! (That was good since we were up until 2:00AM)
2. We had a terrific breakfast of french toast and OJ (Made by Daddy, which makes it taste so much better than usual)
3. Daddy suggested we go to the local Children's Museum
4. We got to play with bubbles, magnets, paints, markers, penguins, bees, shopping carts, AND did I mention bubbles?
5. We got to go out to lunch
6. We got to eat left-over pumpkin pie, with whipped cream (or wooped cream as Faith refers to it)
7. We took a midnight (at least it seemed like midnight) walk to our mailbox (at 6:30PM) in the light of the full moon (that we could actually see - it wasn't covered by clouds!) and Faith was riding her bike! (on January 1st - who would've thunk?)
8. We had only one discipline issue with Faith - A MIRACLE now-a-days
9. We got to spend the whole day with our entire family doing nothing but hanging out and having a BLAST!

Here are some cool pics from our great day!

Wa-la! Sweet Bubble!

So many Bellas! Which one is really her?

The Bubble Master

More bubble fun!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

We had a wonderful Christmas - as I'm sure the rest of you had! It's so much fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a child, isn't it? It just brings the magic and 'wonderment' back to life in your own hearts once again!

We started a new tradition last year of singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and saying a brief prayer of thanksgiving to God for sending His Son to save us! It's such a simple thing to do, but it allowed us to put the focus where it truly belongs - on Jesus!

It was fun watching the kids open their presents - and even more fun watch them give presents to others. It's nice to know that they have almost as much fun giving presents as they do getting them.

Faith received the Target version of an American Girl doll - and is referring to her as such . . . I don't have the heart to tell her it's a knock-off . . .

Bella had fun opening every present she received, and was just as awed and excited by each one she received.

One thing we do have to work on a bit is teaching Faith to conceal her feelings toward presents "she already has" or "doesn't particularly like". It's so hard to say "THANK YOU" when you want to yell out that you "ALREADY have 5 containers of sidewalk chalk . . ."

Hopefully she learned to show a bit of grace this season!

Merry Chrismtas everyone!

My Big Girl!

Here is my sweet little Bella on the potty! I know that this is only a picture a mother can truly appreciate! But this is really exciting stuff.

Bella is only 21 months, and has been pretending to go potty for a couple of months now, but the other day, she told me she had to go . . . she grabbed the Blue's Clues potty seat . . . climbed on up . . . and actually peed on the potty! Wow! I didn't even have to initiate potty training . . . she just did it on her own (thanks in large part to her older sister, and her friends at daycare).

She certainly hasn't mastered the art of going on the potty yet . . . but she's starting to get it! Could it be that soon and very soon there will be no diapers in our house? Here's hoping!

My Baby Sister's Engaged!

Would you look at that rock? Isn't it beautiful?

It's hard to believe that my little sister is soon going to be someone's wife!

Shelly was born when I was 10 years old. I remember feeding her bottles, changing her diapers, giving her baths . . . When she was 10 years old, she stood up in my wedding as a Junior Bridesmaid . . . and now I have the privilege of standing up in her wedding this comming Spring!

My how time flies!

Congrats Shelly and Kent!

Santa vs. Jesus

OK - I need some opinions from my fellow Christian bloggers. I'd like to debate a bit about the Christmas conundrum.

What are your thoughts on Santa Claus? Do you tell your child that their presents are from Santa? Do you tell them he is real?

I want to be careful to not judge anyone else on the decision they make for their own families. I just want some honest feedback from my peeps.

Here are my arguments against Santa:

1. First of all, those of us who are Christians, believe that CHRISTmas is a celebration of God coming to earth as a man - the manifestation of God's grace and love. He gave us His precious son as a GIFT . . . and we, in turn, give gifts to those we love as a reminder of God's great gift to us! It's not about receiving, it's about giving - it's about forgiveness - it's about salvation!


2. We tell Bible stories so our children can learn about their history, their roots, and how they fit in God's master plan. We hope and pray that our children will believe in the redemption that Jesus Christ has brought us - we want him to know He is REAL!


3. What happens if we tell our kids Santa is REAL . . . and later they find out he's not? Will they begin to question the other things that we tell them are real - like Jesus?

I have to chuckle when people ask Faith about Santa . . . "Have you been a good little girl? Then I bet Santa will bring you lots of presents! She looks at them like they're nuts! Her look says, "Are you serious? Santa is just pretend . . . and your talking to me like he's real!"

I'm proud of that. I'm proud that she knows that the Santa business is all pretend. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with her watching The Polar Express or other Santa-based movies or shows, because I know that she knows it's just pretend - just like Dora and Curious George are pretend.

What do you think? Am I depriving my precious girls of childhood mystery? Or are those who teach their kids that Santa is real depriving their kids of the truth?

Grace and Faith

It's time again for me to wax philisophical . . . I don't do it often, so bear with me.

I've been thinking an awful lot about the words GRACE and FAITH lately.

Like so many others in our small community, my world has been rocked by the passing of sweet little Sam. My mind has been flooded with questions . . . did God allow Sam to get sick and die? Did he ordain it? Why did Sam have to die? Why didn't God answer the thousands of prayers uttered on his behalf? How does a mother find the strength to say, "If you need to go and be with Jesus, Mommy will understand."? How does a Mom handle holding her child while the heart monitor goes flat? How can God be good and allow something like this to happen? How does a mom go on without her little one to hold and hug and love?

The Bible says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

I've watched Theresa, Sam's mom, from a distance, and somehow she is living out this verse. This raises another question in my mind - how is that possible? How can she praise God, be joyful, and give thanks in the midst of the storm she's facing? Two words come to mind: GRACE and FAITH.

Through Theresa's example, God is teaching me in a very profound way what GRACE and FAITH really are.

The next question I ask myself is - would I be responding the same way as Theresa, or would I be filled with bitterness, questions, anger - or worse - lack of faith?

I've felt so weak in my faith in the last weeks. I've faced much less devistating things in my lifetime, and responded with much less faith. I've questioned God. I've allowed bitterness and anger to enter in. "You of little faith . . . why did you doubt?"

Theresa is inspiring. She's a woman of strong faith and character. She's not doubting . . . she's staying strong by God's GRACE. She is an amazing example to me of GRACE and FAITH. She has inspired me to extend my trust in God.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by FAITH into this GRACE n which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hop of the Glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5

Cutie Patooties

Bella Grace


Faith Ellen

Returing to the Land of the Bloggers!

Hello All!

I am so sorry that I haven't entered a post in over a month!

Yikes!

I've had many a computer problem over the last several weeks, including errors, memory loss, non-responsive programming! It still isn't remedied yet . . . but I'm able to at least enter a blog entry.

So much has happened since the end of October:

1. Halloween - Faith as Tinkerbell and Bella as a bunny rabbit.
2. The big "Mission Impossible" kick off to our Sunday school program.
3. The dedication of our new church building.
4. Thankgiving - Oh so thankful for my precious family and friends!
5. The passing of one of my Kindergarteners - Sweet little Sam - only 5, but now living with Jesus.

Thanks for showing me grace despite my neglegent blogging!

Love you all!

A Conundrum . . . continued . . .

I just threw the milk in my van and left . . .

That's what I did! My conscience told me to do otherwise, but I was just too darn tired - and the kids were too darn exhausted.

I did like Dana's comment on my origional post though . . . she said that when this happens to her, she just pays for it the next time she's at the store. The store clerk might look at me a little wierd . . . but at least it will be off my conscience. Thanks for the tip Dana!

So much for doing what Jesus would do . . .

Happy Birthday Mike!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

A great picture of Mike in one of his 'awesome dad' moments - letting Faith do his hair.

I must take a moment to acknowledge the best husband/father around! Yesterday was Mike's 33rd birthday! In addition to that, it was the 6th anniversary of his cancer surgery - he has been officially cancer-free for 6 amazing years!

To think . . . 6 years ago we were at a pretty low point in life . . . struggling with infertility . . . Mike diagnosed with cancer . . . we weren't sure how far it had spread . . . if he would need radiation and chemo. It seems like a life-time ago!

But I don't ever want to forget God's amazing faithfulness to me!

Thank you, God, for blessing me with such an amazing husband! Thank you for sparing his life! Thank you for seeing fit to bless us with our beautiful girls! Thank you for give Mike 33 terrific years!

I love you Michael!

A Conundrum . . . or is it?

Co.nun.drum - a. A problem admitting of no satisfactory solution. b. A difficult and complicated problem.

OK, I have a little conundrum to run by all of you . . . I call it a conundrum, but as I look at the definition of conundrum, I don't know if it really is . . . decide for yourselves . . .

Yesterday I ran to the grocery store for my weekly grocery needs. I left the house a little later than I had wanted to and ended up pushing Bella about an hour past her regular nap time. For some reason, Faith was off her game yesterday too. So . . . by the time I'm near finished with the shopping . . . both girls have had it! There's crying, there's whining, there's pushing and shoving . . . even a little yelling (by them, not me - not to say I didn't feel like it).

I FINALLY get checked out, haul everything to the car, I have both girls buckled in their seats (wiped out and near tears), I have almost all the groceries packed in the van . . . . . and I realize I never paid for the 2 gallons of milk on the bottom of the cart!

What to do? In past instances, when something like this has happened, I've done the right thing, gone back inside, and paid for the items. However, all three of us were at our wits end, the girls were already buckled in their seats . . .

What would you do? What is the right thing to do? What would Jesus do? Comments welcome! Later, I'll post what I did . . .

Let Me Clarify . . .

Let me clarify . . . when I said I loved fall . . . THIS is NOT what I meant!



The first thing out of the gate this morning Faith was running around the house yelling, "It snowed, it snowed, it snowed! Can we go out and play? Can we build a snowman? Can I teach Bella to make snow angels?"

Well, I told her she could go out after breakfast for a while . . . I've never seen her eat so fast in all my life!

So, I'm searching high and low for the snow pants, winter coats, mittens . . . I don't have boots that fit either girl, so I put my big wool socks on them and stuffed their feet into their oversized rain boots.



As you can see, Bella wasn't as excited as her older sister. "It code, it code" she kept saying (translation: it's cold). I grabbed the camera to take a few pictures, but it was snowing so hard, I could hardly get a picture.



Here's a picture of my beautiful hearty mums! I truly hope they live up to their name!

This is NOT what Fall is about. Fall is about lots of colors . . . NOT WHITE! It's about crisp, cool air . . . NOT FREEZING air. It's about jeans and sweatshirts . . . NOT WINTER COATS! It's about apple cider . . . NOT HOT CHOCOLATE!

I love Fall! I hate Winter! But I love the excitement I see in my kids!

I Love Fall!

I love this time of year so much! And here are the reasons why:

1. My Birthday (and Mike's) is in October. My very first breath was taken of that clean, crisp, fall air . . . I guess that's why I still love it so much.
2. The colors! Wow! God is so amazing in how He created things, isn't He?
3. The crisp, cool air! No more summer humidity! Yuck!
4. Jeans! I love wearing jeans!
5. Sweatshirts! I love wearing sweatshirts!
6. Hayrides
7. Apple Cider
8. Bonfires! Fires are way more enjoyable in the crisp, cool air and S'mores are so much yummier when you're in jeans and a sweatshirt!
9. Playing outside in the leaves - going on a hunt for the prettiest ones!
10. Back-to-school. Call me a nerd, but I always loved going shopping for my new Trapper Keeper, folders, pens, pencils and school clothes! I had a blast doing all of that with Faith too (sans the Trapper Keeper).

The only downside about fall is that it is much too short! Did I hear the weather report right? Are we really supposed to get snow this weekend? Yikes!

What's your favorite season?

The Simple Things

A laundry pile is a great place to read books!


Yesterday was a day for me to appreciate the simple things. The last two months have been so busy, frantic and hectic that I haven't been able to enjoy the everyday things.

Yesterday was spent baking cookies, folding about 10 loads of laundry, reading books, coloring, making beds and playing soccer and tag. Faith, Bella and I stayed home ALL DAY! We just enjoyed each other's company with the added benefit of getting lots of things accomplished.

Who knew just being a normal mom could be so much fun! I've missed it!

Thank you, Lord, for the simple things - for the things that make life full and rich!

Thank you for a beautiful home that I have the privilege of cleaning,

beautiful kids I have the privilege to raise to love You,

an amazing man I have the privilege to be married to,

and the time to enjoy all of them! I love you, Lord!

Why make the bed when you can play peek-a-boo!

A Sigh of Relief!

(deep breath) aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

That's more like it! I feel like I can breath again! Such a great burden is off my shoulders!

The last two months have entailed endless meetings, studying new curricula, more meetings, scheduling, more meetings, structuring ministries, meetings, writing job descriptions, more meetings, training, typing, changing the schedule, meeting, changing the schedule again, planning, more meetings . . . you get the picture.

Life has been out of control! I kept telling myself, "Just make it to September 10, girl, than everything will be in place, and you can chill out a little."

Well, due to the flu, September 10 turned into September 17, but I've made it! Yesterday was the big kick off for our "Family Times" ministry. This is a family-style Sunday school, that is taking the place of our regular Sunday school while we wait for the construction to be complete on our new rooms. It went really well! It really did! The Power Point worked, the drama team had all of their lines memorized, the crowd participants were funny, the DVD worked, the singing was good . . . we actually pulled it off! All of our hard work was actually producing fruit! Yee Haw!

What was even more gratifying than just "pulling it off" was the fact that I received two affirmations (so far) from parents who loved it and said they couldn't wait to come back next week! Woo Hoo!

I think all of the time away from my family, all of the tears, all of the blood and sweat, might actually be paying off!

I've Been Tagged!

Somehow I became involved in a game of tag I never even knew I was playing . . . I didn't even have the chance to yell out "Not It!"

Anyway, my sister-in-law Michelle tagged me and now I have to name 5 things about myself that are wierd or crazy. Here goes (in no particular order):

1. I'm a picker. I pick at my own face AND I can't stand it when my kids have eye or nose boogies, or wax in their ears . . . I am always drawn to pick at them until they are clean - kind of like an ape - yikes!
2. I can't leave the house without make up on. Even after my water broke with Faith's pregnancy, I took a shower, but wouldn't get into the car until my make up was on. I'm too afraid for people to know what my face really looks like (especially after all that picking!)
3. I hate wearing shoes - I go barefoot whenever I can. My feet actually hurt when I have to wear shoes - especially tennis shoes - ugh.
4. Ice Cream is my friend - that and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I need them to survive any stress or crisis. They make me happy.
5. I don't dust. Really - maybe once - perhaps twice a year I'll haul out the Pledge and go to town - but that's it. When you come to my house, take off those white gloves, and don't look too close.

OK, now it's my turn to tag someone . . . OK Kent and Shelly . . . your turn to reveal your quirks.

Missing big sister!

Now that Faith is big stuff and is going to Preschool, we have participated in the world-wide ritual of carpooling! Faith is so excited to get the chance to ride in Jake and Austin's cars! What fun! She doesn't even need a carseat - which makes her feel oh so grown up! Here's a great picture of Faith in her huge backpack waiting for Jake's mom to pick her up!



Then there's Bella . . . she just doesn't know what to do with herself when Faith leaves. Here's a picture of her crying and pointing out the window, "Thay (her version of Faith), Thay, Thay go bu by."



Poor baby!

Ode to the Babysitters

Our babysitters can't be beat
to have them over is a treat

Katie, Macy, Sue and Grandma
Deserve a long day at the day-spa

For all the times they come to play
With Faith and Bella for the day

I know little girls can be a hand-full
But these sitters don't put up with their bull

Instead they love and play and care
And teach my girls to be nice and share

Thank you to the faithful few
Who love my girls through and through

Your kindness won't soon be forgotten
Thanks for spoiling my girls rotten

This beautiful picture was taken by one of the best babysitters ever - Katie! She used her babysitting money to buy a new digital camera, and now when she babysits, she has photo shoots with the girls. She just sent me this beautiful picture of Faith! Thank you Katie!

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I'm basking in it . . . the light, that is - you know, the light at the end of the tunnel?

I wasn't sure I'd ever even see it much less be basking in it.

I've been so overwhelmed with work lately, spending hours upon hours and days upon days preparing for the kick off of our Children's Ministries on September 10. I kept saying to friends and family, "If only I can make it to September 10 alive and not in Pine Rest, everything will be fine. I can do it! I can make it to September 10." Well as of this post, it is September 13, and I am alive and well . . . well, sort of well anyway . . .

Sunday morning at about 4:00a I awoke to that little feeling in your stomach that tells you something isn't quite right. At about 6:00a that feeling was confirmed with a hasty trip to the restroom . . . I'll leave it at that. ANYWAY, at about 7:15a I had to call my pastor to let him know I wouldn't be coming in, and we decided to go ahead with the Nursery and Preschool kick offs, but postpone Sunday school for another week. After that, I made three brief phone calls to the coordinators of Nursery, Preschool and Sunday school to let them know what was going on, and then I went peacefully back to sleep.

That may not sound like that big of a deal, but for those of you who know me well, you know it is! You see, I'm the kind of person who always takes on more that I should, I have issues with delegating jobs out, and I just put too much on my own shoulders . . . well . . . no longer! This is the first year that I have committed, passionate, invested teams for each area of Children's Ministries.

It was so wonderful to make three phone calls, and know that everything would be taken care of. No rushing around, no anxiety, no making my husband do a bunch of stuff that I wasn't there to do . . . the teams took care of everything. It's like The Three Amigos! The great thing about amigos is that you can lean on them . . . and that is just what I did!

I want to give a big "shot ot" (shout out) to my awesome amigas who put many hours (volunteer hours, by the way) to make this year's kick off a breeze: Natalie, Laura, Lisa, Val, Heather, Angie, Julie and Kim! I love you girls! Good work! I couldn't be basking in the light at the end of the tunnel with out you!

Faith's First Day of School

Here she is! My sweet little 4-year-old! I can hardly believe that she's old enough to go to school - but she assures me she is!

Wednesday was technically her first day of school, but that was just a visiting day - a day to meet her wonderful teacher, see her cool room and meet a couple of the kids from her class.

Today, however, was the real thing! She had her little backpack on (OK, huge backpack - on her anyway) and was all ready to go. She had her outfit all picked out ahead of time - a skirt, of course, and she had her mind made up that Rar, her bear, was coming with her. "He really wants to see my class, Mom. He'll be lonely without me."

Here she is with her wonderful new teacher, Mrs. Konyndyk. You can see from this picture that Rar is still with her at this point! I was so afraid that we were going to have a power struggle over the whole 'Rar can't go to preschool with you' thing . . . but all Mrs. Konyndyk had to say was, "Wow, Rar looks like a really special friend, and we sure wouldn't want him to get lost here at preschool. You better give him to your mom. I'll bet she'll take wonderful care of him." And then . . . . . . . . she just handed him to me, gave me a kiss and a hug, and was off doing things with her classmates. "Later Mom! I have things to do!"

Faith had a terrific first day of school, and left no detail behind when telling me about it! She's already learned "All about Africa and zebra's . . . did you know you can tell zebras apart by their stripe patterns?"

I am so excited that she's so excited! And I'm at peace knowing that her teachers are going to love her and be patient with her, and teach her all sorts of new things from a "God made that" perspective! What a gift!

Has the Fashion World Gone Mad?

Last week, a couple of my girlfriends and I met for lunch, and took a brief walk around Rivertown mall. To say the least, we were shocked and appauled by what we saw in store-front windows, and on the teeny-bopper store clerks. HAS THE FASHION WORLD GONE MAD?

What's up with the 80's stuff coming back? Isn't it better kept stored back - way back - in our Junior High memories. It's great to look back on those days and reminisce - but, please, I do not wish to re-live it! Especially now that I'm a mom.

Don't get me wrong - I don't want to get stuck in the rut where I don't do my hair, don't wear makeup, loose all touch with what is going on in the everyday world - HOWEVER, I don't want to be a 30-something mom trying to look like a teenager.

You've got to check out this blog post that Chelle recommended. I laughed my butt off! It talks about the fashion trends, and how we 30-something moms are struggling with it. I couldn't have written it better myself! Check it out, and chuckle with me!

I have decided that, despite the current fashion trends, I am going to embrace the things I am comfortable with. Low-rise, flared jeans are still cool. They wouldn't still be selling them if they weren't, right? Plus, I think being a 30-something mom is MUCH better than being a obsessed-with-myself, the-world-revolves-around-me, self-absorbed, skinny-butted, stretch-mark free teenager!

Dr.'s Orders

Last week was "one of those weeks". I realize that I've been having a lot of those lately, but I'm not using this blog post to whine.

Instead, I want to thank my dear husband who, on Saturday, told me I needed some alone time and sent me out of the house - without the kids.

It was wonderful - no work - no kids - NOBODY! Just me myself and I. I treated myself to a little "Retail Therpy" which turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I went to my favorite shop, Maurice's, took my time browsing the cutie clothes, tried on like 25 things, was doted on by an extremely nice store clerk (who told me I looked fabulous), danced to the sweet musak and entered a sort of euphoria. To top things off, I found a pair of jeans that make my butt look good - what's better than that?

And you think you have stress!

I guess I don't have it so bad! Tee Hee!

Vacation or Stress-ation?

va.ca.tion
1. A period of time devoted to pleasure, rest, or relaxation.

stress.a.tion
6. A period of time devoted to a mentally or emotionally disruptive or disquieting influence.

Ok, I have just returned from a vacation - but in many ways it felt more like a stress-ation.

Mike, the kids and I headed off for his parent's cottage for a whole week . . . the weather was good most of the time and the kids had a blast but, unfortunately I didn't come home feeling full of pleasure, rest and relaxation - as the definition of vacation would suggest.

Being on vacation is just as much work as normal life when you bring the kids along (if not more). I still had to prepare meals, clean poopy diapers, and wash sand out of every crevas. Even my favorite past-time of laying in the sun was tainted a bit by always being on edge fearing that Bella might fall in the water or wander away somewhere, or by Faith "accidentally" flipping sand on me while she played on the beach.

I also had the joy of having to take work with me - which I knew ahead of time - but truly sucked! Working entailed having to type documents and then having to track down wireless so I could send them via email. It sounds like a simple process - but ended up taking me over two hours due to some issues with my computer/the wireless server. If I wasn't cranky enough about having to work in the first place . . . taking 110 minutes longer than it should have really got me riled up . . . and THEN I had to face the rath of my husband who was ticked - which led into a lovely "discussion" about how my job is ruining our family. He hates my job many times as it is . . . but he really hates it when it disrupts our vacation. I certainly don't blame him - I hated that it disrupted our vacation too!

Let me tell you - it was really relaxing and enjoyable - NOT!

Ok, so it all didn't stink . . . I did get to drink some Pina Colada's and play a little Mexican Train (a domino game) with my husband until midnight every night (when we weren't fighting) . . . and I did get to sleep in a bit . . . and I did get some quality time with my family.

I suppose I need to see the glass half-full.

Oh well! Maybe next year's vacation will actually be a vacation! Here's hoping!

I Suck!

I have a confession to make:

I Suck!

I'm a sucky mom.
I'm a sucky wife.
I'm a sucky friend.
I'm a sucky daughter.
I'm a sucky blogger.

I Suck!

I've treated everyone who is important to me as a nuiscance this week.

• The children I prayed so long to have? . . . just annoyed me - just got in the way of getting things done.
• The husband God saw fit to bless me with? . . . just needed quality time . . . one more thing I had to 'give'.
• The friends I'm so fortunate to do life with? . . . I dissed in order to work - AGAIN!
• The mother-in-law? . . . didn't even call her on her birthday.
• The blog? . . . I haven't typed an entry in a week.

It's true! I suck!

It wasn't until tonight, when I was putting my 1 year old to bed (hastily) that I realized what a truly sucky person I have been. Instead of walking out of the room, listening to her cry herself to sleep, I turned around, picked her back up, and took time to rock her to sleep.

Not only are the people I love missing out on quality time with me, but I am missing out on quality time with them!

In the moments I spent rocking my precious "beautiful, undeserved gift" (that's what her name, Bella Grace, means) to sleep, I prayed a much needed prayer of confession: Forgive me Lord for pushing the amazing gifts you've given me away - all for the sake of WORK! Forgive me for treating them more like interruptions and nuisances instead of treasures! Help me to see the people I love and my work through your eyes - and to balance the two.

Two short weeks ago, my main goal was to "keep the main thing the main thing" - boy have I done a sucky job at that!

I sure am glad that God (and my loved ones) see fit to forgive me when I screw up, and love me despite my suckiness!

How my life changed after Kent linked to me . . .

To get this inside joke click here.

How my life has changed since Kent linked to me:

1. I jumped outside my comfort zone and commented on Kent's heady blog - not once, not twice, but thrice! (I'm not near smart enough to be commenting on his 'deep thoughts' - so I commented on his not-so-deep ones).
2. I made a point to learn how to link to someone else in order to post this entry (notice the highlighted "here" above - I'm so proud!). I certainly wouldn't have been driven to figure it out otherwise.

I'm sure there will be many more ways that being linked to Kent (look I did it again!) will continue to change my life, but we'll just have to wait and see!

The Birds and the Bees

This is how the conversation went:

Faith: Bella is a boy.

Mom: What makes you say that?

Faith: Well, she has short hair, so she's a boy.

Mom: Just because she has short hair doesn't mean she's a boy. She's just a girl with short hair. (pause) How can you tell the difference between boys and girls?

Faith: (whispering) By looking at their privacy area (while motioning toward her nether region).

Mom: That's right. Do you know what a girls private area is called?

Faith: A veegina.

Mom: Right, a vagina. What about a boys?

Faith: They have peanuts.

Mom: (trying her hardest to suppress a giggle) Peanuts!? You silly goose. It's called a penis!


Obviously I have some work to do!

I'm sick of being a referee!

Do you ever feel like that guy in the middle?

That's me today! My main job is not cleaning the house, it's not working - it's keeping the peace between my Faith and Bella. Ugh!

If I had a nickle for every time Faith was snatching something out of Bella's hands, pushing Bella away, or annoying her an any way, shape or form, I would be a millionaire by now (and would no longer need to be making the large dollar working in ministry)!

It's so sad, but I can't wait for Bella's naptime so there is some level of peace in my home!

This makes me think of my poor mother . . . If memory serves, she had it even worse with my brother and me. We were like oil and water growing up! I'm sure we gave my mom some good incentive to jump off a cliff from time to time! Sorry Mom!

I certainly appreciate all she did to raise my brother and I to be fairly normal, loving adults. I just hope my kids turn out alright!

In the meantime, I'll just keep blowing the whistle, so to speak, and try to do it lovingly!